Journeys Week 4

Victims often do not know who to turn to and the Government systems can fail then. Their suffering goes unnoticed and is fuelled by society’s hunger for cheap goods and services and lack of care for the most vulnerable.

In film 4, we try to grapple with these systemic forces and explore how having robust safeguarding policies and processes in place can help mitigate some of these challenges.

We also hear Rayowa’s story and how people in her community turned a blind eye to her suffering. We discover the role a key individual played in her rescue, demonstrating the importance of knowing what to do if someone confides in you.

Film questions

• What struck you about Rayowa’s story?
• What were some of the complexities around her situation that made it particularly hard for her to be noticed / rescued?
• Why is modern slavery such a challenging crime to identify and tackle?
• How does our contemporary approach to safeguarding help us open our eyes and say “we see you” in a way that is life-changing?

Consider these images below:

When you look at these images, how do you see systems crushing the life out of this victim?

Next steps on your journey – stay on top of safeguarding

There are increasing numbers of vulnerable people in our communities. We need to know from a safeguarding perspective what to do if someone walks into our social action projects and we see signs of slavery.

The Clewer Initiative regularly runs general safeguarding training as well as bespoke seminars for those working and volunteering in social action projects; people working alongside refugees and people volunteering in food banks.

Find out more here

What is domestic servitude?

In the film, we see a young girl trapped in domestic servitude.

Domestic servitude is a live-in employment arrangement where the employee cannot leave of their own free will. It is a form of forced labour which sometimes also involves debt bondage. It can be hard for authorities to inspect private homes and so this type of exploitation can be easier to hide. The ‘employer’ may hold the worker’s travel or identity documents, use the threat of deportation, and exploit other vulnerabilities such as language barriers, as a means of control.

Becca’s journey

Becca is the Diocese of Gloucester’s Safeguarding Officer and delivers some of The Clewer Initiative’s safeguarding training. She used to work as a children’s nurse and for the NSPCC. We talked to her about her role and why she is passionate about safeguarding.

She explains: “I believe everyone has a right to flourish as an individual. I believe this from a human rights perspective and a Biblical perspective. Everyone is made in God’s image and should be valued. Anything that goes against that, whether that be abuse or modern slavery, is wrong and anything I can do to protect and inform people of their rights, is important to me.

“Safeguarding is so important. It is a key way in which we can protect vulnerable people from potential abuse and identify and support victims.

“All organisations have safeguarding policies and processes in place. Modern slavery is just another form of abuse for people to know about. We are not asking people to do anything different or extra. It shouldn’t be burdensome because the safeguarding processes are already in place.

“Safeguarding isn't just something for specialists. Absolutely everybody needs to have a basic awareness of it and in that way, we can make our communities a lot safer.

“One of the things that really saddens me is when the systems don't work properly and people don't report. Someone might think “I only see this person once a week or maybe what I witnessed was just a one off.” It is really important that we do something with that information. We must bring this darkness out into the light.”